Dark Cloud 2: Legend of the Original Atlamillia
by The Omen
Summary: After the defeat of Griffon, Max invites Monica on a picnic to confess his true feelings for her. Instead, a whole new adventure begins. Ch. 2 up!
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: I don't own Dark Cloud 2 and never will.

Chapter 1: Ambushed

So, this was it. Max couldn't believe it. Emperor Griffon had been eliminated, and Monica was going to go away forever. He thought this adventure of theirs would never end. But, just as quickly he had been pulled into it, he had come out, all in one piece, with Monica. It had happened too fast. Now, while spending these last few days with her, it seemed like it had never happened at all. They both knew she had to leave soon, and both enjoyed each other's company for as long as humanly possible these last few days. Monica had even slept in Max's room, on a separate bed Gerald had ordered to be moved in. Late into the night, the talked with each other until they were so tired they could talk no more.

Max didn't think he'd be able to go on without her. The day he had met her on the train, he had had a small crush on her. He couldn't help it. She was so graceful and pretty. But on their adventures, they had grown very close. Even getting through the first forest, Max's feelings began to blossom. Many things had tried to pry them apart, but only brought them closer. By the end of their adventure, Max knew that he loved Monica. He was willing to do anything for her, even give his life if necessary. And he had been very willing, facing Emperor Griffon and his minions. But he had never confessed his feelings to her. He was afraid of rejection. He knew she liked him. There was no doubt about that. In his eyes, though, there was one tiny problem. He _loved_ her. And he had no idea if she would return those kind of feelings.

But now, he had a conflict. A few more days and Monica would be gone forever. If he never confessed his feelings to her, he would go insane after she left. The feelings would have to stay bottled up. If he didn't tell her, he sure as hell wouldn't tell anyone else. Max realized he _needed_ to let her know. Even if she did not feel the same way about him, at least she would know how he felt. And he would feel a lot better after she left. So he decided to invite her to the Rainbow Butterfly Woods, for their last fight together, and, after eliminating the monsters, a picnic, to say good-bye. _This, _Max said to himself, _is how I'll let her know._

Little did Max realize, however, that Monica was having a similar inner conflict. Monica knew she had grown to love this boy over their adventures. His hair, his eyes, his fun personality, she loved everything about him. It had started from a little crush, and turned into love. But she knew that soon she had to leave. She knew they could never be together. She was 100 years older than Max, after all. She laughed aloud at the though, but was not at all amused. Disrupting the space-time continuum for her own reasons seemed pretty selfish. But, she did have to let him know how she felt. So when Max offered to take her on the picnic in the woods, she immediately accepted. She decided to let him know how she felt there.

That Saturday, they decided to walk the long distance from Palm Brinks to Sindain. They did not even notice the distance, however, because they were to preoccupied by each other. Even in those rare moments when neither of them talked, Max secretly hoped they would never reach Sindain. He hoped they got lost and kept on walking with each other, forever and ever...

Consumed by these thoughts, both were surprised when they stopped in front of the entrance to the butterfly woods. Both just stood there for a long time, silently. Max finally spoke up.

"So...are you ready to go in?" Monica nodded, drawing her sword.

"Yes. Let's go." It would really be pointless to describe to you how easily the destroyed any monster that stood in their way. Soon, when they felt the forest was peaceful enough, they walked into a clearing. Max set down the picnic basket and turned to Monica.

"Monica, there's something that I need to tell you," he said, rather nervously.

"Yes?"

He sighed. "I just wanted to say that I..." But he was cut short by a rustling in the trees. Before Max could even blink, half a dozen archers had emerged in the canopy of the trees, arrows on string. They wasted no time, and released the arrows.

"Monica!" Max leapt in front of her, shielding her. In that split second before the arrows reached him, he knew he was going to die. A tear rolled down his face. He would never have the chance to tell her how he felt. But at least Death's peaceful sleep would bring him comfort. And he would die shielding his love.

He crossed him arms, defending his face and chest, and braced for impact.

A/N: Please review. Chapter 2 is coming.


	2. A Stranger, A Hero

Disclaimer: I don't own Dark Cloud 2 and never will.

Chapter 2: A Stranger, A Hero

Max stood in the clearing. He awaited the pain that would soon precede his death. But that pain never came. After about two seconds, he opened his eyes, putting his hands down.

"What the..." He turned toward Monica. She stood there, mouth agape. Soon he discovered why.

The arrows simply hung there, suspended in mid-air. Just before reaching Max, they had suddenly stopped in mid-flight. They heard murmuring. The soldiers perched on the branches were baffled. This all happened within a matter of a seconds. Then they heard a voice.

"Run, now!"

Max immediately caught on, and grabbing Monica's hand, rushed out of the clearing. No sooner had they left, that they heard a high-pitched whirring sound, and, a moment later, a tremendous explosion. It was so earth-shaking, it sent Max and Monica fly through the air, and crashing hard on the dirt ground of the forest, stunned.

Max, who was the first to recover, tried standing up, but felt a searing pain the moment he stepped on his left foot. It wasn't broken, he quickly decided, but sprained badly. Monica stirred beside him. She seemed to be okay. Now, they both turned to the clearing, which caused their jaws to drop to the ground.

It was utterly filled with smoke. Dark, black, thick, it was rolling over itself to desperately escape the confined space of the clearing. Any small holes it found in the canopy, in the trees, it just surged through, trying to find a way out of the thick branches.

Both boy and girl simply stood there watching, unable to speak for the next few moments, as they watched the smoke gradually clearing from the forest. When it finally did, they saw a scene of utter destruction. There was not even a trace of the soldiers or the trees they had been on. Everything within a 100-yard radius of the explosion had been turned to dust. The ground was scorched black, with small fires burning anything they could touch. Finally, rustling in the branches above them broke the deathly silence. A shadowy figure suddenly dropped out of them. Max saw his long sword, and, on instinct, drew his wrench and gun, though he seemed to be friendly enough.

He was tall, about 6'3", Max guessed. He had dirty blonde hair, and a young face. He couldn't have been older than 18 or 19. His eyes were blue-green, with a hazel lining on his pupils. He wore a black padded shirt, and Max could tell he was wearing a breastplate under it. He wore metal gloves, and had a small buckler conveniently attached to his left wrist. On his left flank, he wore a long sword in a leather sheath. On the sheath was a silver inscription which read: ΦονιÎ¬ς δαιμÏνων. He wore brown boots made out of deer hide. But the item that particularly drew their attention was on his belt. It was very ordinary looking, except on the buckle. There attached a large sparkling white stone. Their first instincts were a diamond. But it couldn't have been. They had never seen a diamond like that before. It shined dazzlingly in the sun. Suddenly, it began to glow with a blinding light. Max and Monica put their hands up, shielding their eyes. But something else drew their attention. On their own bodies, their Atlamillias began to glow. This only happened before when they had traveled back and forth through time. And this was certainly not what was happening now. _It was reacting to this stranger's stone._

His face was very serious. "Let's go." That was all he said before passing the two and walking toward the entrance of the forest. Max and Monica stared at each other with stunned faces. They had a thousand questions for him, some of them being "Who the hell are you?" and "What is that thing around your belt?" But they followed him without question. Whatever he wanted, it seemed important. He also possessed a great power. His destruction of the clearing had proved that.

But Max couldn't walk very well, and it didn't seem that this stranger would stop for the world. He allowed Monica to grasp him and help him trot along. He blushed as she put her arm around his neck and he rested his head on her shoulder.

Meanwhile, the stranger in front of them turned back. _The Red Atlamillia Stone has chosen him? How pitiful. But his heart and will shine with such light...maybe this is the reason he defeated Griffon._ He turned back around and seemed to focus all his attention to walking out of the forest, with Max and Monica following him from behind. Soon, they were out at the Sindain Station, in front of the entrance to the woods.

As the boy and girl walked out of the forest, this mysterious teenager turned to face them.

"I think I owe you an explanation."

"You _think?_" Max asked ecstatically.

"My name is Alan. I followed you here to Sindain this morning-obviously you didn't notice me. You two are the holders of the two Atlamillia, correct?"

"Yes." Monica this time stepped forward, responding bravely. "And what about you? How do you know all this? And what is that object around your belt?" She pointed.

He smiled, a sort of grin. It was the first time since they met him since they saw one play across his face.

"Those are all good questions. Many days ago, I was paid a visit by someone from the deep future, even further away than Monica's time." She was stunned that he knew her name. But she allowed him to continue.

"The name was Sage Crest, I believe. It was from a future where Emperor Griffon ruled. After his defeat by you, a few days ago, you two were supposed to be killed. That was to happen today. Or at least, it _was._" Again, that grin came across his face. "But, she told me to save you. So, I did, using the power of the legendary Original Atlamillia stone."

"_What?"_ Monica seemed stunned, while Max just looked plain confused. "How did you find that?"

He laughed dryly. "Find? You don't find the Atlamillia. They find you. I was chosen by this one during my early childhood. The last possessor, a young boy named Toan, had died several millenniums ago. All this time, the stones had lain dormant. At least, until Emperor Griffon came to be."

"Wait a minute." There were more questions ready to gush from the girl, and Alan braced for it.

"If you know all about Emperor Griffon, why didn't you help us defeat him?"

"That was not my task. The space-time continuum is a very fragile thing. It is tampered with enough without me changing it even more. But, _this_ is my task, my duty. My mission."

"What is?"

"Emperor Griffon will return, sooner than you think," he said gravely. "Those were his henchmen in the forest. His energy is gathering. You'll feel it soon enough. Before long, he will return, and we must stop him."

"Are you serious?" Max asked. "We _just_ killed the bastard!"

"I know. But this time, I'll help." He drew his sword. It had the same inscription as his sheath did engraved deeply into it. It was glowing a dim blue.

"What do those symbols mean?" Max asked, pointing to the inscription.

"Oh, this? It means 'Demon Slayer' in the ancient text. It is a powerful weapon forged by the gods themselves. Long ago, it was sent to the Earth when a great evil threatened it. Occasionally, it returns when it senses a new evil arising. This would be one of those times."

"And you have it because...?"

"Because, I am the possessor of the Original Atlamillia Stone. This is the person it chooses, to help him or her on their quest."

They seemed to be satisfied enough, because neither of them spoke anymore. An awkward silence grew between the three, until Alan finally broke it.

"I, uh, kind of noticed I was interrupting something," he said rather nervously. "Before I intervened. I'll just go wait outside Sindain. Come meet me when you are ready."

So he left, leaving the two of them alone, once again, at the entrance of the Rainbow Butterfly Woods.

A/N: So, I hope you liked it. I'll start writing Chapter Three soon, as soon as I update my other story. Please, review! Review, review, review! I feed of those reviews!


End file.
